oldest settlements in western Ohio, a distance of fifty miles from the Schumm settlement. Sometimes they even went to Dayton, Ohio, a distance of 100 miles. If they could make a trip in a week they considered themselves fortunate. Naturally much time was lost in going and coming from town, and no trip was made unless it was absolutely necessary. They often ran across strange adventures on these trips. George M. Schumm arrived near home late one night after one of these trips. He lost his way and slept under his wagon as a matter of course. Daylight showed him his home a short distance away. His wife almost ran into a bear near Willshire one day. Aside from a scare she was unharmed. But bears, wolves, raccoons and other wild animals roamed the forests in those days and were no rarity.

The flour used by the first settlers was gotten directly from the mill. Their first grain, however, was hand-ground. It was a three days' journey to the mill, over rough and often bottomless roads, soaked by heavy downpours. To cut one's way through the thick muck and sticky clay was sometimes well nigh impossible. So in course of time some of the roads were paved with logs laid transverse and touching one another. These corduroy roads proved a great help in making the way passable over miry and swampy spots, but were very rough.